We have come to the end of our series on the Beatitudes, Jesus’ introductory teaching leading into the Sermon on the Mount. It would seem to be the end also of Jesus’ marketing career—if it hadn’t ended already—because today’s topic is…persecution. Persecution? Who wants that? Well, if you desire to follow Jesus Christ, you do. The journey of a disciple begins with poverty of spirit—the recognition that we bring nothing that merits our standing in relationship with God. It is sin that separates us from God and so we mourn our sin and the sin that separates others from God. Recognizing our unworthiness and God’s absolute righteousness leads to an attitude of meekness—defined, remember, as "power under control." Rather than our unrighteousness, we desire God’s righteousness and so we develop a deep hunger and thirst for righteousness. That journey takes us to mercy—God has been merciful to us and God’s righteousness leads us to being similarly merciful to others. The growing development of these beatitudes in our lives draw us closer to purity of heart—not the absolute purity we’ll experience in the future, but a purity of heart that has Christ at the very core of our being and recognizes His presence in all areas of our lives. Such disciples seek to be peacemakers—to bring the peace of God in Jesus Christ to others around us—which often leads first to persecution.

And so we come to the eighth and last beatitude. "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you," (Matthew 5:10-12).

The result of living out the Beatitudes is you will experience persecution. Even for those who seek to bring peace to situations in their lives the ironic initial result is persecution.

I just finished reading a biography of Benjamin Franklin. Toward the end of his life, Franklin lived in France, first working at gaining support from the French government for the American Revolution and, later, negotiating a peace agreement with England. Caught in the middle of a variety of opinions from English, French and American voices about an appropriate peace, Franklin wrote in a note to John Adams, one of the other members of the negotiating team for America, "’Blessed are the peacemakers’ is, I suppose, to be understood in the other world, for in this they are frequently cursed," (Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Walter Isaacson, p. 398). Franklin could just as easily have used the word persecuted. Strive to be a peacemaker and you will face some form of persecution.

This beatitude comes last in the Beatitudes, because all of the virtues of Beatitude living—poor in spirit, mourning, meekness, etc.—all of them run contrary to worldly desires. Live them out and you will run into worldly opposition. Proverbs 29:10 says this: "Bloodthirsty people hate a person of integrity and seek to kill the upright." More to the point, persecution is what Jesus experienced. And if we seek to follow Jesus, persecution is what we will experience. Meeting with his disciples in the upper room of the last supper, Jesus taught his disciples and prayed for them before the coming events of betrayal and crucifixion. At one point, he says this to his disciples: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you…If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also," (John 15:18-20, selected). Later, the apostle Paul, writing to his disciple, Timothy, writes of his own experience with persecution and that a follower of Jesus Christ can expect the same: "You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, my faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," (2 Timothy 3:10-12; underline mine). Paul wasn’t much of one for marketing either! Live a godly life in Christ Jesus, live out these profound Beatitudes taught by our Lord and you will experience some form of persecution. There’s something about the righteousness of Christ the world cannot stand.

William Barclay, in his commentary on John, commenting on that teaching of Jesus in the upper room, gives an example of the world’s annoyance or anger with the righteousness of Christ. He tells of a Christian in ancient times who was known as Aristides the Just. Apparently, the leadership of the city of Athens grew tired of Aristides and voted to banish him from Athens. One of the persons who voted for banishment explained his vote this way, "I was tired of hearing him always called ‘the Just!’"

There is something about seeking to live out the gospel, seeking to follow Jesus Christ, seeking to live according to the righteousness of God, seeking to live out Jesus’ instruction in the Beatitudes that irritates the world! The gospel is offensive to some! Consequently, live it you and you will face persecution.

The gospel irritates some because it dares to speak of right and wrong, of good and evil, dares to speak about "sin." The gospel and Beatitude living convicts people of their sin and people don’t take to that particularly well—especially if they are far from God. Again, Jesus understood this as he taught his disciples in that upper room. In the same section quoted earlier, Jesus explains the basis for the world’s hatred toward him and those who seek to follow him: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin," (John 15:22). People do not like the light of the gospel shining on the areas of sinful darkness in their lives.

The result is persecution…of some form. Most of us do not face the kind of severe persecution some Christians face in the world—and certainly what the first Christians faced. Some paid, and are paying, the ultimate price for their faith. I’m almost embarrassed to address our persecution when I think of what other Christians have faced. Nonetheless, if we in our freedom and liberty really live out the Beatitudes, we will face some type of persecution.

In his expanded explanation of this beatitude—the only one that gets such an expansion, by the way—Jesus tells us something about what our persecution might look like. "Blessed are you when people insult you…" Literally, that means to throw something in one’s face. Stand up for your faith and you will receive insults. It might be someone ridiculing you that Christian faith is "a crutch for the lame." Perhaps a group of friends might find laughable your attempt to live righteously. Whatever it might look like, living out your faith will bring you insults from some.

Jesus goes on to say "when people…persecute you." The word "persecute" means, literally, to drive or chase away. Living out the Beatitudes might mean a form of persecution where friends or family exclude you. In some ways, it might be for the best because some of the activities they’re involved in are not ones in which you want to be involved! But, it can hurt and may be a price you pay for living out your faith. A job promotion, or perhaps the job itself, can be lost because you refused to do something unethical or illegal. Maybe, like the banisher of Aristides the Just, your boss or supervisor is just annoyed with your attempts to live as Christ would have you live and you get treated unfairly. Live out the Beatitudes and some will drive or chase you away.

Then Jesus says "when people…falsely say all kinds of evil against you." This one not only hurts, it’s unfair as well! Your faith may so irritate some people that they begin to spread rumors about you and tell all kinds of falsehoods about you. I imagine that was attempted with Aristides the Just before they just got rid of him. It’s not fair. And it hurts. We want to protest our innocence, defend ourselves against the lies, perhaps even take our own measure of vengeance against those who spread such lies about us.

But Jesus speaks of a different response. "Rejoice! And be glad! When insults come, when persecution comes, when falsehoods are spoken about us, Jesus says, "Rejoice and be glad." How can we possibly do that? By focusing on the blessings Jesus speaks of. There are two blessings spoken of in this expanded beatitude. "Rejoice and be glad…for (1) great is your reward in heaven and (2) they did the same thing to the prophets." Unspoken in the beatitude is a third blessing Jesus spoke of in his teaching in the upper room. (3) They did the same thing to Jesus. When persecution comes, rejoice and be glad because your reward in heaven is great and you’re in pretty good company because the same thing happened to Jesus and the prophets.

Regarding your reward in heaven, the apostle Paul—the same apostle who wrote Timothy about the persecutions he had endured, writes this in his letter to the Romans: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us," (Romans 8:18). Our present sufferings are not worth comparing to our future glory, first of all, because our future glory will be infinitely more glorious than the suffering is painful. Immeasurably more. When persecution and suffering come, reminding ourselves of the future glory that is to come helps us rejoice and be glad. And secondly, our present sufferings are not worth comparing to our future glory because the present sufferings are but a blink of the eye in the perspective of eternity. Persecution is but for a moment. Reward and glory are for eternity. Rejoice and be glad!

Then, the second blessing, we are in good company. That fact alone is some measure of comfort. Within that fact, however, are other measures of comfort. First of all, it is a sign of our status with God. With persecution for our faith, we are in the company of those who held special places in a relationship with God. Jesus, God’s Son, and prophets, the voices for God. Suffering persecution for our faith brings with it the assurance that we are in a special place in our relationship with God. And it is an affirmation that we are living out the Beatitudes. The degree to which we are living out the first seven Beatitudes will be the degree to which we experience the eighth. If you’re not experiencing some kind of persecution, it may be a sign that you’re not living out your faith.

A word of caution here. It’s not persecution for persecution’s sake. Don’t go looking for persecution as a way to justify your position with God! Live the Beatitudes and persecution will come. Don’t try to create persecution as a self-righteous vindication of your faith. Note the qualifying context Jesus makes in this beatitude, "If you are persecuted because of righteousness, the kingdom of heaven is yours." If people insult you, persecute you, say all kinds of evil against you because of Jesus, rejoice and be glad. The blessing of persecution only comes in a life of righteousness, or, as Paul put it with Timothy, "a godly life in Christ Jesus.

So, we have come full circle with the Beatitudes. Did you notice the blessing of the first and last beatitude is the same? "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus’ incredible teaching in the Beatitudes shows his disciples the way to experience true blessedness, true happiness in life. The world won’t point you in this direction, but Jesus does. True happiness comes in poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, being merciful, purity of heart and peacemaking. Live like that and you will be persecuted. Yet, even in the midst of persecution, the disciple of Jesus Christ can rejoice and be glad.

We have been closing these sermons with the self-examination for each beatitude that comes from the Serendipity Bible. Let’s consider for a moment, how we might rank ourselves in the "blessing" of persecution: